However, in a new town, everyone's recently moved house. It would be easy to forget to register to vote... and suddenly find it's too late to join in. So we've become Voter Registration Champions to help encourage all new residents to use their democratic rights.
Northstowe's demographic is much younger and more diverse than surrounding villages, with many people working from home, juggling long hours, or perhaps caring for a family. In the busyness of settling into newbuild life, it can be hard to form connections. So people can easily feel disempowered, or isolated. Like many other community networkers, however, we're working to change this: to find ways to connect people and help them too step up and make a difference.
We started small, theologically, and democratically. Our reading of Scripture has convinced us that God cares about giving a voice to the voiceless, and empowering those who might otherwise be overlooked. At our Church Meeting, people shared stories and encouragement about why voting mattered to them - and some of the challenges faced locally. So we voted: and committed to encourage all of our eligible members to get registered to vote in time for May's mayoral elections, and to start to spread the word about the new need for photographic ID at the polling stations.
Within a day of the Church Meeting, 100% of eligible members were registered to vote, and had checked their photo ID. On polling day, members shared photos of themselves outside the polling station on the church WhatsApp, celebrating our new temporary community centre ("The Cabin") being used as a polling station for the first time. Being able to physically vote IN our own new town was encouraging: previously, lack of community spaces meant we had to vote in the neighbouring village.
When the General Election was announced, we started looking for resources to help us equip people not just to register, but to participate critically and constructively in the democratic process. The Joint Public Issues Team (JPIT) a partnership between the Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Methodist Church, and the United Reformed Church in the United Kingdom, have put out helpful resources encouraging everyone to LOVE, PRAY, VOTE. Their purpose is to help the Churches work together for peace and justice through listening, learning, praying, speaking, and acting on public policy issues. We're using their resources within our Sunday and midweek gatherings, and sharing them on social media. Our thriving baby group ("Little Explorers") is also becoming a place where honest conversations about politics are being encouraged, as we share opportunities and resources with the carers, mums, and dads who join us week by week.
We'd love to have been able to host a hustings. But, in these early stages of a new town, we don't yet have a church building - in fact, there are very few public spaces, or groups with the experience and resources to host such an event. However, as a church, we're preparing to write to our local candidates and ask them some key questions. We look forward to sharing their responses locally.
We know we won't all agree on what's best for our new town, let alone the wider area. But our prayer (inspired by JPIT!) is that the political debates will be characterised by listening, kindness and truthfulness; and that voters will listen actively and demonstrate love-filled curiosity towards those they may disagree with or do not understand.
Read more about what we're sharing locally on our website: www.northstowe.church/vote